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Coffee Roasters, New York City. Thoughts to take away.

Yes we did visit the M&M superstore and the Lego superstore. (It gives one a little hope to see children from all countries smile as one at the giant Lego Dinosaur,when in the big world their leaders would say that they are ‘adversaries’.) At one point, we rested our weary feet in a Starbucks next to The Bank of China just off Times Square. (Be warned:to sit down in this Starbucks you need to pass through turnstiles and flash your card at the ‘magic’ eye. But there’s no cattle prod so don’t worry) All this was fine but, quite frankly, one could be anywhere on the planet while visiting these places..

New York City, however, swallows up these ‘globalised brands’ and they become insignificant against the gravity and personality of the city that never sleeps. To go there is truly a ‘wow’!

It’s in this great metropolis that we found every coffee hounds dream! A local coffee roaster (from Brooklyn) with a cafe in Manhatten: Variety Coffee Roasters on 7th and W24th and who roast at 340 Stagg St, Brooklyn.

Here’s 10 Things we liked about Variety Coffee Roasters

1. The name above the door: ‘Coffee Roasters’ They lead with what they ‘do’; they’re confident; they don’t need any other ‘sell’.
2. The shop front: Classic, understated and city chic. Big city windows invite you to look in and see that ‘it’s the real thing’.
3. On the counter there is a very expensive and beautiful La Marzocca espresso machine.
4. There’s a calmness in the atmosphere. Everything and everyone feels in harmony.
5. Their own roasted coffee is for sale on site. So this is going to be coffee chosen from raw beans and personally roasted by the owners to their taste.
6. The barista made the espresso to perfection.
7. Table service.
8. Those big city windows: it’s calm in the cafe so relax and watch the city on the move.
9. I imagine Jack Nicholson might sit here reading a copy of the NYT: it was that sort of a place.
10. Coffee is complimentary to life and this venue was just that.

There is no ‘beef’ with ‘big industry’ but we always plumb for the independent, like Variety Coffee, for a unique and special experience. Independents are also found all over the world, just like global brands, and we would argue that each one exists to make life more interesting and enjoyable.

New York – WOW!